September 14, 2024

By Maddie Fennewald

In the air, water, and even under foot, insects inhabit every domain of our daily lives, performing essential functions that balance our fragile ecosystem on earth. By using cutting-edge technology and custom methods, artist Bob Sober created Small Wonders: Insects in Focus, an exhibition of breathtaking beauty that allows viewers to see this hidden world of insects like they’ve never seen it before.

Small Wonders aims to inspire, in an artistic way, our natural curiosity to understand the form, function, and diversity of nature. The exhibition runs through Sept. 21 at the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center.

Bob Sober, a visual artist as well as technological pioneer whose photographic techniques are the subject of educational tutorials, offers a series of thirty images that bring the natural world to a scale rarely experienced until now. Small Wonders finds viewers at the intersection of art and science and brings together the two fields of thought in a provocative and inspiring way.

This exhibition is toured by ExhibitsUSA, a national program of Mid-America Arts Alliance. ExhibitsUSA sends more than 25 exhibitions on tour to over 100 small and mid-sized communities each year. These exhibitions create access to an array of arts and humanities experiences, nurture the understanding of diverse cultures and art forms, and encourage the expanding depth and breadth of cultural life in local communities.

This exhibit is open Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center located at 4750 Troost Avenue in Kansas City. For questions about this free exhibit, call (816) 759-7300, and MDC staff will be available to provide answers.